Achari Chana Pulao

I am sure the name of this dish has already tickled your taste buds, a recipe of chana pulao with a twist. All desi people love achars as an accompaniment with paraths, dal chawala, pulaos, even achar gosht is a favourite of many people. So I tried making a variation of chana pulao by adding achar and it was a hit, hope you will enjoy making it and eating it too.

Ingredients:

500 gm rice (soaked for 30 minutes)

2 cups boiled chick peas (white)

2 potatoes (peeled and cubed)

 ¼ cup oil

2 medium onions thinly sliced

2 medium tomatoes finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste (mixed in ¼ cups of water)

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

1 tsp black cumin seeds (shah zeera/kala zeera)

5-6 cloves

2 black cardamoms

1 inch piece of cinnamon

1 Bay leaf

¼ tsp turmeric powder

 ½ tsp red chili powder/crushed red chilies

Salt (to taste)

2 green chilies chopped

2 tbsp of your favourite achar (I have used mixed vegetable pickle)

Method:

1) Take a large pan and heat oil, (keeping in mind that the rice will double after cooking, plus chickpeas are also added so you will need to have enough space in the pan), add onion and fry till they get golden brown.

2) Add in the ginger garlic paste (be careful as the water we added in ginger garlic paste tend to splutter), fry it for a minute or two and add chopped tomatoes, cumin seeds, cardamom, black peppercorn, cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, turmeric powder  and chili powder.  Fry for some time then add the chick peas and  cubed potatoes fry for 5 minutes. 

3) Now add 3 cups of water and salt, Let the water boil and taste the salt. You should be able to feel the saltiness. If it feels just right, it means you have too little. Remember that the rice will need some salt too, so let the salt be enough that you can taste it to be a bit more than you would want, but don’t add too much.

4) Once the water starts to boil add the rice (remember to drain the rice first).  Let this cook on high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring every now and then, then reduce the heat to medium and keep cooking covered until the water is almost dried, giving it a stir every now and then to make sure all the rice is cooked evenly and perfectly. 

5) Once there is very little water left in the rice, reduce the heat to as low as possible, spread achar over the rice, sprinkle the chopped green chilies and cover the pan by using a tight lid, or take a kitchen towel and place it over the pan then place the lid on top of it. Cook on low heat till the water gets absorbed and rice done, for about 10-15 minutes. Switch off the flame and Serve hot with raita, kachomar salad.